Last year is history.
It’s time to look forward.
This is about your future.
The Gift
There is a gift you can give yourself that will provide you with more than any other. It’s a simple one and it’s one that you’ve had with you all along. Too many of us take it for granted. Too many of us give it away without realizing its full power. Too many of us don’t take advantage of its potential.
What’s the best thing you can give yourself in 2016?
If you thought of the word permission you were right.
In 2016 give yourself permission:
- Permission to try things
- Permission to break things
- Permission to do things
and most important of all
- Permission to succeed
The best gift you can give yourself for 2016 is permission.
Growth Mindsets are Permission Mindsets
As I wrote about in Fixed or Growth — Why Your Mindset Matters there is a direct correlation to a permission mindset. If you are invigorated by challenges and if you think you can … give yourself permission to try. If at first you don’t succeed … try, try again.
This is not new age spiritualism. It’s a simple fact of life. When you try … you learn. When you fail you learn. When you get back up one more time than being knocked down you have given yourself permission to carry on. So, Carry On!
“Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t
— you’re right.”
~ Henry Ford
As you make your plans for 2016 keep in mind that you want to continue providing yourself permission to try things, do things, break things and permission to succeed.
There are 1000 reasons something may not work.
Give yourself permission to find the one reason it will.
If you have already planned your 2016 please take a moment to consider whether you have given yourself permission to dream big, to reach for goals that everyone says are unobtainable, and that you have given yourself permission to succeed.
Why do I keep coming back to permission to succeed?
For many of us, myself included, we have settled and allowed ourselves not to believe we can succeed.
This doesn’t happen for everything we do, but it can infect our thoughts.
It’s not easy to kick those thoughts to the curb, but you must.
Use the attributes of a Growth Mindset to think beyond your goals.
- Look for the issues and dig into them
- Break them down
- Seek to understand what you can learn, take away and improve upon
Your Team also wins. As this also applies to people you work with. Give them permission. Encourage them to seek bold moves. Encourage their success. As they succeed cheer them on. Permission to succeed can become infectious too.
Taking Permission to the Next Level
As you give yourself permission to succeed consider thinking outside the box. Do things you may not otherwise do. Is it hard? Yes. Is it worth it? Only you can decide that. Will you surprise yourself? Probably.
Give yourself permission to make decisions, to take action, to seek counsel from others, to listen, to observe, to empower others, to be confident, to share ownership, to expect commitment from others. Permission Thinking is not all about you, but you are the primary driver to make things happen. By giving yourself permission you empower others to take action.
Taking your permission to the next level by:
- Telling Stories – One way to give yourself permission is to be able to tell your story. Even if it’s only to yourself (initially).
- Taking Bold Actions – These will help you Stand Out in your Career.
- Making BIG plans – Using outside the box thinking. Ask trusted friends to sanity check your Permission Thinking.
Give yourself permission to succeed. Then go out and make it so.
